1. Field of the Invention
Diver heating and work energy apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Presently a common method of heating a diver while submerged and ambulatory involves the heating of water at a diver-remote site and the pumping of such hot water to the diver for circulation through conduits in his diving suit, as in U.S. Pat. No. 3,519,021 to Wiswell, Jr. This usually is in addition to transmitting power to him for operating work tools when required. Transmission of such hot water to the diver occurs by way of a flexible hose that is subjected at its exterior to the low temperature ambient water which tends to provoke considerable thermal loss. The use of thermal insulation around the hot water hose tends to render the hose bulky and difficult to manipulate.
Preliminary novelty search in the U.S. Pat. and Trademark Office has uncovered several patents that disclose the power-generation use of seawater to a limited extent and for a short duration on an emergency basis by flow from the exterior to an interior chamber in a submerged vessel: U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,504,648 Kriedt; 3,418,818 Vincent el al; 3,163,985 Bouyoucos; and 3,003,448 Gay Jr. One, 3,103,195 to Cousteau et al, discloses use of bottled-gas-driven seawater pumps for vessel propulsion, and another, 1,466,315 to Thorsen, operates an hydraulically driven hull scrubber device that uses the deck water conduit on the ship being scrubbed.
A number of patents disclose apparatus for generation of heat from flow hydraulic fluid in a closed loop through a friction means; U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,813,036 to Lutz for a residential heating system; 3,333,771 to Graham for a belt joint vulcanizer; 2,764,147 to Brunner for an aircraft hydraulic system heater; and 2,107,933 to Crockett et al for a system for heating buildings, vehicles, compartments, etc.
One patent, U.S. Pat. No. 3,815,573 to Marcus, discloses a compressed-gas-operated vortex-tube type heat generator for heating a diver's suit by circulation of hot liquid through a gas-to-liquid heat exchanger. The gas used is the bottled breathing gas carried by the diver, or furnished as breathing air via line from the surface.